Folding device



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FOLDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 10. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 1L fimnuwy a /1106111 41 Jan. 25, 1966 D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 10. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 lngantovr D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE Jan. 25, 1966 16 Sheets-Sheet 16 Filed Feb. 10, 1961 ism United States Patent 3,231,157 FDLDING DEVICE David A. Freeman, 1550 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Ill. Filed Feb. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 83,445 26 Claims. (Cl. 223-37) The present invention relates to a device and method for folding flexible articles such as articles of fabric or plastic, etc. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with automatically folding such articles.

There is described hereinbelow an illustrative embodiment of the invention in connection with folding a garment such as a shirt, but it should be appreciated that the principles of this invention have general folding utility and applicability and that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular embodiment. Further, it should be appreciated that all forms of flexible material may be folded in accordance with the principles and method of this invention, and on devices embodying the principles of this invention. Herein, the expression fabric is intended to include all forms of such flexible material, including flexible metallic material as well as fabric, both woven and non-woven, felted materials and plastic.

While the illustrative embodiment of this invention described hereinbelow is described in connection with garmen-t folding generally, and shirt folding in particular, it should be appreciated that this is merely exemplary and that the term garment as well as the term shirt are intended to be generic to all articles foldable in accordanee with this invention, and on devices embodying the same.

It is critical and essential to the garment manufacturing industry as well as the laundry and dry cleaning industries, particularly with increasing costs of doing business and increasing labor costs, that the garment folding operation be effected rapidly, efficiently and effectively. Heretofore, folding operations were effected manually or semiautomatically with folding assisting devices which required a substantial amount of operator attention and labor. Moreover, garment folding is a tedious task resulting in operator fatigue after short periods of work. Since the folding operator normally is one member of a finishing team, fatigue on the part of this person often resulted in slowdown of the entire team.

In accordance with the present invention, folding can be effected completely automatically with no more labor involved than merely placing the flattened garment on the mechanism and then removing the folded garment. And, uniquely, the machine duplicates hand folding; that is, it performs the same sequence of folding; to Wit, sleeves, sides and then tail fold-up, considered most desirable by the trade. Of course, this sequence can be varied, if desired, by proper alteration of the cam arrangement in the machine. In addition, embodiments of this invention are operable to automatically fold such garments as short sleeve shirts without partial hand folding which was required by heretofore known so-called automatic folding devices. To operate the machine, irrespective of the garment thereon, the operator need merely press a button.

In shirt folding, for example, an embodiment of this invention is effective to mold or shape the collar of the shirt and, successively, fold the sleeves across the back of the shirt, fold the sides and shoulders inwardly over the back of the shirt, and then fold the tail portion upwardly over the back of the shirt, to form a neat and compact package of a fully folded shirt. The illustrative embodiment of this invention, which is shown in the drawings and described in detail hereinbelow, is effective to automatically perform all of these functions.

3,231,157 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 The foregoing and numerous other advantages of the invention will readily appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which each and every detail shown is included as a part of this specification, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the mechanism. with portions of the cover parts thereof removed to better illustrate other portions thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 but with many other parts of the mechanism removed for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a schematic type diagram of the mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a head end view of the mechanism with cover parts thereof removed for clarity;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mechanism as viewed substantially along the line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the collar back pressing and clamping mechanism for the collar forming operation when shirts or similarly shaped articles are folded on the mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view at the head end of the mechanism, taken substantially along the line 7--7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a portion of the folding arm operating mechnism;

FIG. 9 is a fragmental, longitudinal, sectional View taken substantially along the line 9-4! of FIG 1;

FIG. 10 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line Iii-10 of FIG. 2 and showing the foot pedal operating portion of the mechanism;

FIG. 11 is a fragmental plan view of the tail clamping and side folding portion of the mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substan tially along the line 12-12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmental, logitudinal, sectional view taken substantially along the line 13-13 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line I l-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a transverse sectional view of the operating drive for the tail clamp and side folding mechanism, taken substantially along the line 15--15 of FIG. 1;.

FIG. 16 is a fragmental, perspective, diagrammatic view of portions of the drive for the tail clamping and side folding portions of the mechanism;

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of the FIG. 22 is a view similar to FIG. 21 but showing the arrangement in a moved position;

FIG. 23 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tail foldup mechanism taken substantially along the line 23--23 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 24 is a vertical sectional view of the tail fold-up mechanism, taken substantially along the line 24-24 of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a fragmental illustration of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIG. 23 but showing the same in a moved or changed position;

FIG. 26 is a fragmental sectional view of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIG. 23 and viewed substantially along the line 2626 of FIG. 23;

FIG. 27 is a fragmental sectional view of the portion of the mechanism shownin PEG. 23 and viewed substantially along the line 2727 of PEG. 23; and,

FIG. 28 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 but showing an arrangement for adjusting the mechanism to handle different widths, weights, thicknesses and lengths of garments.

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and one which is particularly useful for folding fabric garments such as shirts, is shown substantially completely in FIG. 1 and diagrammatically in FIG. 3. The mechanism includes a supporting frame on which there is mounted a substantially horizontal table or table surface member having an aperture 11 therein adjacent to the head end thereof to expose a collar molding mechanism indicated generally at 12.

Collar molding mechanism.-This collar molding mechanism 12 may have any desired form or configuration but, generally, most desirably includes a set of three collar contacting members 13 which are movable or contractable and expandable into and out of the space beneath a yoke plate or canopy 14. Generally, the collar molding mechanism 12 is contracted so that a buttoned shirt collar can be placed thereover conveniently. Thereafter, the mold expands so that the neck band contacting members move apart to stretch the shirt collar, press and mold the same to a desirable shape, such as a heart shape.

The collar molding mechanism incorporated in this embodiment of the invention is normally held in expanded condition as shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. It is pneumatically contracted by a piston and cylinder assembly 15 which is controlled by operation of a foot pedal 16 shown in FIGS. 2 and 10. When the foot pedal 16 is depressed, a three-way control valve 19 is operated to supply air through conduit 21 from an air supply source (not shown) to a cylinder 15. When the pedal is released, the valves 18 and 19 are operated to exhaust air from the system through the conduits 2t) and 21 to initiate a reverse cycle operation.

The cylinder 15 is mounted on the frame at 22 so that the piston rod 23 moves forwardly toward the head end of the machine. As it moves, the piston rod drives a connecting rod 24 against the force of a biasing spring 25 to operate a crank linkage. 26 that contracts the collar contacting members 13.

The connecting rod 24, at its end opposite to the piston rod 23, is connected to a block 27 which is firmly mounted on a slide bar 28' of the collar contacting member operating linkage 26 and effectively mounted for longitudinal movement only. Also firmly secured to the slide bar 28 is a pull lever 29 which slidably receives a pull rod 30 therethrough. The pull rod 30 has a nut 31 on its outer end so that when the bracket 29 is moved forwardly a certain distance toward the head end of the mechanism, the pull rod 3i will likewise move therewith after the bracket contacts the nut.

The other end of the pull rod 36 is connected to a bracket 33 on which a collar back pressing plate 34 is mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the head end portion of the neck bank contacting members 13 so as to press the back of the shirt collar when the collar molding mechanism is released. A spring 35 on the pull rod 30 and disposed between a collar 36 thereon and a portion 37 of the frame of the mechanism biases the collar back pressing plate toward a collar back pressing position.

When it is desired to operate the shirt folding mechanism without effecting complete expansion of the collar molding mechanism, the spring biased movement of the collar contacting members of the mold may be limited by a, locking linkage which includes a crank 38 pivotally mounted at its center 39 on a portion 46 of the rigid frame of the mechanism. One arm 41 of the crank 38 carries d an operating handle 42 which extends through the opening 11 in the table top 10, as shown in FIG. 1. The other arm 43 of the crank 38 is connected to a sliding stop bar 44. The connection between the sliding bar or rod 44 and the crank 38 is pivotal while an intermediate portion of the slide bar 44 is carried in a bracket 45 mounted on the frame member 37. The outer free end 46 of the slide bar 44 is disposed to project into the path of the operating block 27 or be moved out of that path depending upon the manual positioning of the handle 42 on the crank 38.

When the crank 38 is moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in PEG. 6, the end 46 of the stop bar 44 will be disposed in the path of the operating block 27 so as to limit movement thereof by the force of the biasing spring 25 when air pressure is removed from the cylinder 15. When the collar mold mechanism is operated for shirt removal, the handle 42 is moved counterclockwise, as viewed in FZGS. 1 and 6, by a spring 47, and the end 46 will be moved out of the way of the operating block 27, thereby permitting full expansion of the collar molding mechanism.

Folding and return m0vement.Approximately simultaneous with contraction of the collar mold, air is also supplied to cylinder 48 (seen in FIGS. 5 and 9). The mechanism connected thereto may act to raise a pair of inner folding arms 49 and 50 at the left and right sides of the machine, respectively, when viewed from the tail end of the machine if the folding arms are not already in an up position by reason of the cam wheel action, which is described below.

The piston rod 51 of piston 48 moves upwardly and carries upwardly with it the free end of a lever 52. Since the other end of lever 52 is pivotally connected to the frame at 53 and, since lever 54 is pivotally connected thereto at an intermediate position thereon, lever 5'4 also moves upwardly. A lifting crank 55 connected to the upper end of lever 54 is, therefore, pivoted counterclockwise. If the folding arms 49 and 50 are not already in a raised position, crank 55 will act to lift them.

At this stage, the foot pedal is released and the collar of the shirt is grasped by the collar mold. The mold may also act to press and shape the collar, as more thoroughly described in existing patents, such as United States Patent No. 2,942,763, issued June 28, 1960.

After the collar of the shirt has been grasped by the collar mold, the automatic operating button 56 is depressed. This causes the folding mechanism to begin its automatic folding sequence.

Folding arms 49 and 50 are first lowered to clamp the shoulder and back portion of the shirt against table 10 and to provide a folding pattern edge for the next fold in the automatic folding sequence. Simultaneously, or in sli ht sequential order, the tail clamping mechanism closes by pivotal movement of tail arms or plates 61 and 62 about a common transverse axis 63. Upon complete fold movement of tail clamping arms or plates 61 and 62 they are substantially superimposed over the side folding arms or plates 64 and 65 so as to clamp the tail end of the shirt.

At about the same time with the tail clamping move merit, a pair of outer folding arms 57 and 58 at the left and right sides of the machine, respectively, move successively about pivot axes Si and 60 and inwardly to fold the shirt sleeves inwardly against the folding pattern edges of arms 49 and 50 and over the back portion of the shirt.

The next step in the operation is a side folding movement of the shirt. The inner shoulder folding arm 49 and the superimposed tail clamping arms or plates 61 and 64' at the left side of the machine, with the tail of the shirt clamped therebetween are moved about pivot axis 66 for arm 49 and coaxially aligned pivot axes 67 and 63 for the tail clamping arms 61 and 64. This folds the left side (as viewed in FIG. 1) of the shirt. The edge of a blade or plate on arm 57 and the inner edge of arm 61 act as the folding edges for this side fold. As soon as the arms 49, 61 and 64 have folded the left side and shoulder portion of the shirt over onto the back of the shirt, shoulder folding arm and superimposed tail clamping arms 62 and 65 pivot about pivot axis 69 for arm 50 and coaxially aligned pivot axes 70 and 71 to fold the right side and shoulder portion of the shirt onto the folded left side of the shirt. Arms 58 and 62 act as the folding edges for this side fold.

Next, the tail fold-up mechanism 72, including folding plate 73 and folding arm 74, are moved inwardly of the machine from the right side thereof toward the center with the arm 74 disposed above the shirt and the blade 73 disposed therebelow. After the shirt is clamped between arms 73 and 74, the tail clamping blades 61, 62, 64 and 65 are withdrawn from the tail of the shirt by a longitudinal movement away from the collar clamping end of the machine. As soon as the blades 61, 62., 64 and 65 are fully withdrawn, blade 73 is pivoted about its axis 75 toward the head end of the machine while arm 74 acts as folding pattern edge. Subsequently, both the blade 73 and the arm 74 are rotated with a support arm 76 therefor, about a pivot extending transversely of the machine substantially centrally of the fold-up arm drive mounting 77 described in detail hereinbelow.

When the mechanism is moved through the positions described immediately above, the shirt is fully folded. However, blade 73 and arm 74 are still within the folds.

Before their removal, it is necessary to hold the shirt in a folded condition until it can be handed or pinned. This is accomplished by actuation of a valve limit switch by the tail fold-up mechanism 72. Such activation causes cylinder-piston assembly 350 to act upon a gear traincrank mechanism to lower the tail clamping arm assembly 357 onto the back of the upper collar end of the folded shirt. Then blade '73 and arm 74 are removed by a sidewi'se (to the right in FIG. 1) movement of tail fold-up mechanism 72. Arm 76 then pivots back to the position shown in FIG. 1, and blade 73 pivots to its normal unactuated position. If desired, the shirt may then be pinned or banded to retain its folded condition. This ends the automatic folding cycle.

After pinning or banding the shirt, the foot pedal 16 is depressed to contract the collar mold and to operate the cylinder-piston assembly 48. Operation of the assembly 48 raises the shoulder folding arms 49, 50, 5'7 and 58 to an upstanding position. The operator may then bag the shirt and remove it by an outward sliding movement from the shoulder folding arms 49 and 5t) and outer folding arms 57 and 58.

Upon release of the foot pedal 16 after banding and removal of the shirt, the machine automatically begins to unfold. The shoulder folding arms first lower by their own weight as the pneumatic pressure in cylinder 43 diminishes and then the tail clamp 357, which holds the shirt folded, raises. The tail clamping and lower side folding assembly then moves in and opens substantially simultaneously with the shoulder folding arms. The right side unfolds about axes 69, 70 and 71. The left side unfolds about axes 66, 67 and 68. Thereafter, but before the tail clamping arms are unfolded about pivot axis 63, the arms 58 and 57 open successively.

Obviously, the unfolding movement of the fold-up mechanism and the tail clamping and side folding mechanism, and the upward movement of the inner arms, may be effected by activation of a return cycle button, if desired, at the conclusion of the fold-up operation.

The mechanism for effecting the numerous foregoing automatic operations is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein it is shown that the coordinating system for the mechanism is operated and controlled from a main drive shaft 79 to which there is secured a plurality of rotating cam wheels St), 81 and 82 which control the operation of the arm and shoulder folding arms, the tail clamping mechanism and the side folding mechanism, respectively.

The main drive shaft 79 is directionally rotated by a double main drive cylinder and piston assembly 83 which rotates shaft 79 by the action of an integral rack 84 on the piston with a pinion 85 on the shaft (see FIG. 2). A speed regulator 83A controls the rate of rotational movement of shaft 79.

Cam followers operatively engaged with the rotating cam wheels 80, $1 and 82 operate the various clamping and folding mechanisms described briefly above and in detail hereinafter (see FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 15)..

The arm and shoulder folding mechanism.The mechanism constituting the arm and shoulder folding mechanism is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. With particular reference to FIG. 4, the double main drive cylinder 83 with the piston rack 84 thereon is shown engaged with the pinion 85. Taken in conjunction with FIG. 5, these figures show that the main drive shaft 79 is journaled at the head end of the machine in a bearing 86 mounted on a frame plate 87 of the frame structure. The cam wheel 8t? for operating the arm and shoulder clamping and folding arms is mounted on shaft 79 and is engaged by a plurality of cam followers 88, 89, 90, 91 and 92 which are, respectively, mounted at the ends of cranks 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97 which are center pivoted in a fixedly mounted frame plate 98. The cranks are pivotally mounted for pivotal movement of the ends of the arms thereof as the followers follow the contour of the convoluted cam groove 99 in the cam wheel 80.

Cam groove 99 is contoured with a single rise 100 therein which, during rotation of the cam, reaches the followers 92 and 88 through 91, successively, during closing operation or folding operation of the mechanism. During the unfolding operation, the cam followers are reached and held by the rise lltiti in inverse order.

The first follower to be engaged by the rise 100 is the follower 92 on the crank 97. The end of the other arm of this crank is pivotally connected to a connecting rod which operates to lift the arm mechanism at the head end of the machine to a raised position as shown in FIG. 9

in substantially the same manner as the cylinder 48 is.

effective to raise the mechanism. The structure by which the raising of the arm mechanism is accomplished is specifically shown in FIGS. 5 and 9 wherein it is seen that the connecting rod 120 is pivotally connected to a crank 121 that is center pivoted on ear 122 extending out from the head end of the frame. The other arm of the crank 121 is pivotally connected at 123 to a link 124 which ties the same to a pivoted lifting lever 125 which is substantially the same as the lifting lever 55 which is linked to the cylinder 48 for a lifting of the head-end arms.

When the rise 1% passes the follower 92, the arms 49 and 50 are lowered onto the article to be folded.

The second follower to be engaged by the rise 100 during rotation of the cam wheel 80 in a clockwise or folding operation direction as viewed in FIG. 4, is the follower 88 at one end of an arm of the crank 93. The other arm of the crank 93 is connected through a tie rod 101 to a rack 102 which is intermeshed with a pinion or gear 103 and held in position by a backing roller 104. The gear 103 is mounted on a shaft 105 which, when rotated, operates to pivot the outer sleeve folding arm 57 at the left side of the machine (see FIG. 1) into a folded position (see also FIGS. 4 and 7).

After the cam follower 88 for the left side folding arm is engaged by the rise 100 of the cam groove 99, it passes into an elongated dwell portion 100a which is substantially circular and concentric about the center of the main drive shaft 79. The dwell 100a holds the follower 88 in a fixed position whereby the arm 57 is held in a folded position during the remainder of the operating cycle of the mechanism.

The next follower to be engaged is the follower 89 on the crank 94. The other arm of this crank is pivotally connected to a connecting rod 106 which, at its other end, carries a rack 106' which is intermeshed with a pinion 107 and held in such intermeshing engagement by a backing roller 108. As the rise passes the follower 89, the rack 106 is driven outwardly of the machine thereby rotating the pinion 107 on the shaft 109 on which it is secured, in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 to rotate the other outer folding arm 58 inwardly of the machine, successively after inward pivotal movement of the left side folding arm 57.

The fourth follower to be engaged by the rise is the follower 90 on the crank 95. The other arm of this crank is connected to a connecting rod 110 carrying a rack 111 at its free end, the rack 111 being engaged with a pinion 112 and held so engaged by a back-up roller 113. The pinion 112 is fixed on a shaft 114 which is effective to rotate the left side inner shoulder folding arm 49.

The fifth follower to be engaged by the rise 1% of the cam groove 99 is the follower 91 on the crank 96. The other arm of this crank is connected to a connecting rod 115 which carries a rack 116 disposed in engagement with a pinion 117 and held in position by a back-up roller 118. The pinion 117 is fixed on a shaft 119 which is connected to the right side inner shoulder folding arm 50 for rotation thereof when the rise 101 reaches the follower 91.

Each of the four head-end folding arms 57, 49, 50 and 58 are mounted on universal joint structures 126, 127, 128 and 129, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The left side folding arm 57 includes a garment holding blade 136 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 131 (see FIGS. 1 and 7) journaled in a pair of supports 132. It is spring-biased in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 7, by a spring 133 (shown in FIG. 1). Thus it is normally biased toward the table, and against any garment that may be disposed between it and arm 49, when the blade is moved to a folded position. The supports 132 are secured on a rod 134 which is connected at its head-end to an arm lever 135, the other end of which is mounted on the universal joint 126 for controlled movement of the arm mechanism 57. The construction of the universal joint 126 (FIG. 8) is explained below in conjunction with the description of the universal joints 127, 128 and 129 below. By this construction, however, when the arm lever 135 is moved clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 7, during the first stage of the folding operation, the blade 130 on the pin 131 will raise the left side sleeve of the shirt and hold the same against the back of the shirt while folding the same tautly about the left side inner folding arm 49.

The left side inner folding arm 49 is constituted by a shirt contacting arm or blade 136 mounted on an arm lever 137 which is secured to an arm carrying rod 138 which forms the pivot axis for the arm and which is secured in a universal mounting joint 127 therefor.

The right side inner folding arm 56 is symmetrical with the left side inner folding arm 49 and, similarly, is constituted by a shirt contacting arm or blade 139 secured to an arm lever 140 mounted on and secured to an arm pivot rod 141 which is secured in the universal joint 128 for that arm.

The inner folding arm pivot rods 138 and 141 also carry and are tied together by a cross bar 142 against which the arm lifting levers 125 and/or 55 may operate for lifting the arms as discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 9. The cross bar 142 also extends to the left side of the machine and the leftmost extremity, which is extended beyond the leftmost extremity of the arm 57, carries a sleeve restraining arm 143 which overlies and prevents the sleeve of the shirt from sliding off of the arm 57 until it is substantially folded about the inner folding arm 49 so that a taut fold may be obtained. Without the arm 143, a stiff, well-starched sleeve might tend to move ahead of the folding arm 57 once the folding operation is started and thereby create'a loose fold.

The outer right side folding arm is, in part, similar to the left side outer folding arm in that it includes a blade 144 (see FIG. 8) mounted on a pin 145 which is carried in a pair of arm journal supports 146 in such a manner that a spring 147 on the pin 145 and between the supports 146 biases the blade 144 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, to maintain the same against the table and any garment thereon. The supports 146 are secured to a carrying rod 148 which is mounted in an arm lever 149. The arm lever 149, in turn, is fixed on a pivot rod 156 which forms a part of the universal joint 129.

The arm lever 149 has a channel-shaped bottom portion 151 which slidably carries a rack 152 that engages a pinion 153 secured to a supplemental arm rod 154 journaled in the arm lever 149 and in the supports 146 for the arm pin 145. A supplemental sleeve folding arm 155 is secured to a lever 156 which, in turn, is secured to the arm rod 154.

At the end removed from the rack 152, the arm lever carries a cam follower 157 which is received in a cam slot 158 in a bracket and cam block 159 which is secured to the main mounting block 160 forming a part of the universal joint 129 and mounted on the main frame of the machine.

The cam groove 158 is eccentric with respect to the horizontal axis of the pivot rod 150 so that as the arm lever 149 is moved in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 8, the cam follower 157 sliding in the cam groove 158 will cause the rack 152 to move outwardly with respect to the lever 149 thereby causing the pinion 153 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction at a rate greater than the counterclockwise rotation of the lever 149. This movement causes the supplemental arm 155 to be carried to a position extending further to the left than the position of the pin 145 for the arm blade 144 when the arm mechanism 58 is in a folded or closed position. The length of the arm 156 is preferably selected such that the supplemental arm 155 will lie in a fold brake position to hold the shirt when the left side inner folding arm 136 is moved to a folded position for folding of a garment about the supplemental arm 155 during the left side folding operation.

The universal joint mountings for the arms 57, 49, 5t) and 58, respectively, starting at the left side of the folding table, are shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. Each of these universal joints 126, 127, 128 and 129, has a fixed bearing lock 161, 162, 163 and 168, which are mounted on the rame, and more particularly on a back plate 164 of the frame. Journaled within these bearing blocks are a set of bifurcated substantially cylindrical joint blocks 165, 166, 167 and 168, respectively. Received between the arms of the joint blocks to form knuckle joints therewith are a set of disk-shaped or substantially cylindrical-shaped pivot blocks 169, 170, 171 and 172 each of which is disposed on a pivot or knuckle pin 173, 174, 175 and 176, respectively, extending axially thereof and received in apertures in the arms of the blocks 165-168. These pivot members 169-172, respectively, carry the pivot rods for each of the folding arms at the head end of the table.

Each of the pivot rod carrying blocks is provided with a radially extending guide roller 1'77, 178, 179 and 180 which is receivable in a guide groove 181, 182, 183 and 184, respectively, in the pivot mounting and journal blocks 161, 162, 163 and 160.

At the head end or side of each of the bifurcated cylindrical joint blocks 165, 166, 167 and 168, the shafts 105, 114, 119 and 109 extend and carry the pinions 103, 112, 117 and 167, respectively, so that rotation of the pinions will effect rotation .of the arms through vertical planes. While the arms are rotating, the rollers 177 through 180 are received in the grooves 181 through 184, respectively, and thereby prevent the arms from moving in planes normal to the folding planes.

As each of the arms reaches its inward, folded position, the guide rollers move out of the grooves and are 

1. A FOLDING DEVICE FOR PLANAR FLEXIBLE MATERIAL COMPRISING A FRAME WITH A TOP WORKING SURFACE, A POWERED AXLE ENTENDING LONGITUDINALLY WITH SAID FRAME, MEANS FOR CLAMPING ONE PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL TO SAID TOP WORKING SURFACE, A SERIES OF FOLDING ARMS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID TOP WORKING SURFACE, THE ARMS OF SAID SERIES BEING OPERATIVELY PAIRED IN A PREDETERMINED FASHION TO FOLD SUCCESSIVE PORTIONS OF SAID MATERIAL INWARDLY, AND MEANS TO SUCCESSIVELY OPERATE SAID PAIRED ARMS TO FOLD SAID MATERIAL TO A SMALLER DIMENSION, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A TOP, AN INTERMEDIATE AND A TAIL-FOLDING CAM WHEEL AFFIXED TO SAID POWDERED AXLE, A SERIES OF CAM FOLLOWERS ACTUATED BY SAID CAM WHEELS AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO PIVOT MECHANISMS FOR PIVOTING INDIVUDUAL FOLDING ARMS, SAID CAM FOLLOWERS BEING ARRANGED SO THAT SAID FOLDING ARMS ARE PIVOTED SUCCESSIVELY TO FOLD THE UNCLAMPED PORTIONS OF SAID MATERIAL TO A SMALLER DIMENSIONS. 